Cheapest Owners In Sports

Even though Roeser says the Clippers want to win and make money, the actions of owner Donald Sterling speak way louder than his subordinate's words. He's more concerned with holding onto the $500 million fortune that he made owning real estate in Beverly Hills. In the 2002-03 season, his team's $42.7 million payroll was the second-lowest in the NBA. Because of figures like that, the Clippers are one of the league's most profitable teams, even though they've never won a title or even contended for one.

Essentially, Sterling tries to stockpile first-round draft choices and hang onto them for a few seasons while they make relatively low salaries that are mandated by the NBA's pay scale. The hit parade of players who have exited the Clippers includes Danny Manning, Ron Harper, Dominique Wilkins, and more recently, Lamar Odom and Andre Miller.

The Clippers would not match the six-year, $63 million offer sheet Odom signed with the Miami Heat. Sterling also wouldn't counter the six-year, $51 million dollar offer Miller got from the Denver Nuggets.

Jerry Reinsdorf - Chicago Bulls

In the 1990s, Reinsdorf had one of the greatest sports dynasties ever; his Bulls won six NBA titles in a span of eight years. They might have won more if he didn't blow the whole thing up by being stingy.

Before the sixth championship season in 1998, Scottie Pippen threatened to never play for the Bulls again. He was recovering from foot surgery and didn't believe his $2.7 million salary was adequate compensation. Reinsdorf didn't want to spend the necessary dough to keep Pippen in a Bulls uniform, so Michael Jordan's second fiddle went to the Houston Rockets and signed a five-year, $67.2 million contract.

Head coach Phil Jackson chose to leave Chicago after management decided not to give Pippen the big contract he wanted. Jackson and Jordan knew they weren't going to win a seventh title without Pippen. Ironically, Pippen returned to the Bulls in July of 2003, signing a two-year, $10 million deal.

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Bill Wirtz - Chicago Blackhawks

In the last 20 years, people in the windy city have seen the Bears win the Super Bowl, the Bulls win six NBA titles and the White Sox finally win a World Series. However, Chicago has been starved for a Stanley Cup since 1961.

Bill Wirtz's family has owned the Blackhawks throughout that title drought, and he hasn't given fans much in return for their support. The average ticket price is $50, and if fans are not willing to pay up, they don't get to see home games because they're blacked out on local television. Even though the franchise does not try to contend for championships, it made a $1 million profit in 2003.

Helping the bottom line, the team's total payroll was $30.8 million (sixth-lowest in the NHL) during the 2003-04 season. Wirtz's attachment to his money has alienated some good players over the years, including the legendary Bobby Hull and the excellent Tony Amonte. Amonte made $3.4 million in Chicago in 2002 before signing on with Philadelphia, where he made $5.8 million.

When Wirtz did shell out big bucks for a player, it wasn't a wise expense. He signed Theo Fleury to a two-year, $8.5 million deal, which turned out to be a waste when he was suspended for violating the NHL's substance abuse policy.

Jeremy Jacobs - Boston Bruins

Jacobs bought the Bruins in 1975 for $10 million. Over the years, his investment has appreciated in value (the team's worth has been pegged at an alleged $230 million). On top of his assets in hockey, Jacobs' food service and hospitality company, Delaware North, has posted billion-dollar profits.

But despite his riches, and the huge hockey fan base located in the Boston area, Jacobs runs the Bruins like a small-market team. In the 2003-04 season, payroll was $46.5 million, good for 12th-highest in the league. He wasn't willing to spend what was needed to hang onto stars such as Anson Carter, Bill Guerin and Jason Allison. In 2002, Guerin made $5.1 million with the Bruins, then got a substantial raise to $8.7 million with the Dallas Stars.

Instead of building a championship team around hockey legend Ray Bourque, Jacobs traded him to the Colorado Avalanche. It paid off well for No. 77, but Boston is still waiting for its first NHL championship in more than 30 years.

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It's amazing the teams we discussed have any fan following. If a team shows little effort to put a winner on the field, and only serves the interests of one person (its greedy owner), what reason is there for fans to care?

Question: What NFL city lost and gained a team because of owner greed?

Answer: The Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in the middle of the night prior to the 1984 season. Baltimore got a team back when Art Modell moved his Cleveland Browns there and renamed them the Ravens.